Data analytics and intelligence firm Palantir Technologies has agreed to a new lease deal at the RXR-owned 620 Avenue of the Americas. The company, which previously leased the space through WeWork, is set to retain its existing footprint of 140,345 square feet within the Chelsea building.
Newmark’s Michael Morris and Raise Commercial Real Estate’s Michael Iino co-brokered the deal for Palantir, although information regarding RXR’s representation remains unclear.
WeWork had initially occupied 212,387 square feet in the seven-story building in 2019 with its footprint spread across the entirety of the third, sixth and seventh floors. Eventually, the coworking firm decided to sublease this entire space to Palantir and banking app Current in separate “enterprise” office deals. To date, both tenants have secured direct leases with RXR to remain in the building following WeWork’s bankruptcy filing last November.
According to RXR Chairman and CEO Scott Rechler, a degree of foresight played a significant role in facilitating these direct leases.
“We were pretty constructive early on,” Rechler said. “On the eve of them filing for bankruptcy, we made this universal deal with them, which then gave us the ability to go directly to tenants that were in their spaces.”
Rechler also revealed that finalizing the lease with Palantir took approximately eight months. Nonetheless, this direct agreement has shielded at least one of RXR’s properties from the significant disruptions caused by WeWork’s bankruptcy within the New York office market.
Built in 1896 and following a design by architects Theodore W.E. De Lemos and August W. Cordes, the Beaux Arts building has been part of RXR’s portfolio since 2012, when the New York-based investor and developer paid $500 million to The Chetrit Group.
Need a reliable and up-to-date listings platform that grants you access to the most sought-after office solutions in major cities across the U.S.? Visit CommercialCafe.com and sort properties by location, size or price to find the best fit for your business:
